Mumbai : Nitin Gadkari has secured a crucial legal victory, obtaining permission from the Bombay High Court to file a civil suit against tech giants Meta, X Corp, and Google LLC over the proliferation of 'defamatory' deepfakes and AI-generated content targeting him.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has been granted permission by the Bombay high court to file a civil suit against Meta, X Corp, Google LLC, and others.
The suit targets 'defamatory' deepfakes and AI-generated posts falsely linking Gadkari and his family to financial benefits from the ethanol-blended fuel programme.
Gadkari's lawyer argued that since the content is accessible in Maharashtra, a substantial part of the cause of action arises within the state's jurisdiction.
The minister seeks permanent injunctions to remove and prevent the circulation of such fake and false content online.
The Bombay high court on Monday permitted Union Minister Nitin Gadkari to file a civil suit against Meta Platforms, X Corp, Google LLC and other unknown persons over "defamatory" deepfakes and AI-generated posts uploaded against him.
The Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader had filed a leave petition under Clause XII of Letters Patent, a procedural requirement wherein permission of the court is sought before filing of a suit, when part of the cause of action arises outside the territorial jurisdiction of the high court.
Such leave (permission) is necessary to enable the court to hear and decide a suit despite jurisdictional limitations.
Gadkari's leave petition came up for hearing on Monday before a single bench of Justice Abhay Ahuja.
His lawyer Sandeep Ladda submitted that online platforms have made alleged defamatory and deepfake content publicly available, including to users in Maharashtra.
Since this content is accessible here, Ladda argued that a substantial part of the cause of action arises in this state too. Justice Ahuja accepted the arguments and permitted the Union minister to file a civil suit against the online portals.
Allegations of False Content: Gadkari, in his proposed suit, claimed there are several fake, AI-generated and defamatory content available online with regard to the ethanol-blended fuel issue.
As per the proposed suit, unknown persons have uploaded and circulated posts and deepfake content falsely portraying him as being personally responsible for the programme and that he and his family have financially benefitted from it.
The allegations made in the posts are false, malicious and grossly defamatory without an iota of doubt, and is designed to create a misleading public perception against Gadkari, the suit said.
Through the suit, Gadkari intends to seek permanent injunctions against such fake and false content.
Nitin Gadkari has secured a crucial legal victory, obtaining permission from the Bombay High Court to file a civil suit against tech giants Meta, X Corp, and Google LLC over the proliferation of 'defamatory' deepfakes and AI-generated content targeting him.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has been granted permission by the Bombay high court to file a civil suit against Meta, X Corp, Google LLC, and others.
The suit targets 'defamatory' deepfakes and AI-generated posts falsely linking Gadkari and his family to financial benefits from the ethanol-blended fuel programme.
Gadkari's lawyer argued that since the content is accessible in Maharashtra, a substantial part of the cause of action arises within the state's jurisdiction.
The minister seeks permanent injunctions to remove and prevent the circulation of such fake and false content online.
The Bombay high court on Monday permitted Union Minister Nitin Gadkari to file a civil suit against Meta Platforms, X Corp, Google LLC and other unknown persons over "defamatory" deepfakes and AI-generated posts uploaded against him.
The Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader had filed a leave petition under Clause XII of Letters Patent, a procedural requirement wherein permission of the court is sought before filing of a suit, when part of the cause of action arises outside the territorial jurisdiction of the high court.
Such leave (permission) is necessary to enable the court to hear and decide a suit despite jurisdictional limitations.
Gadkari's leave petition came up for hearing on Monday before a single bench of Justice Abhay Ahuja.
His lawyer Sandeep Ladda submitted that online platforms have made alleged defamatory and deepfake content publicly available, including to users in Maharashtra.
Since this content is accessible here, Ladda argued that a substantial part of the cause of action arises in this state too. Justice Ahuja accepted the arguments and permitted the Union minister to file a civil suit against the online portals.
Allegations of False Content: Gadkari, in his proposed suit, claimed there are several fake, AI-generated and defamatory content available online with regard to the ethanol-blended fuel issue.
As per the proposed suit, unknown persons have uploaded and circulated posts and deepfake content falsely portraying him as being personally responsible for the programme and that he and his family have financially benefitted from it.
The allegations made in the posts are false, malicious and grossly defamatory without an iota of doubt, and is designed to create a misleading public perception against Gadkari, the suit said.
Through the suit, Gadkari intends to seek permanent injunctions against such fake and false content.
